How to Make Hip Hop Beats

The number one thing you need to know about a Hip Hop record is its construction.

The Beat is the background music to the sample, singer or vocalist. It may include these elements:



1. A MIDI Drum pattern or looped drum part which is put on one track.

2. The Bassline (Usually a MIDI sequence)

3. The other orchestration (this includes synth pads, strings, and horns)

4. Snips and Dubs which give character and accent the song.



This beat can be long or short. Usually it will never go shorter than 8 bars. These short phrases are usually looped back to the beginning until the vocalist is done singing or the sample ends.

They then go into the first Verse (8-16 bars) then the first Chorus (8 bars) then the 2nd Verse and Chorus then a Break of 2 to 8 bars and then a Verse or Chorus that leads to the end of the song. This is not always the case, but it is a guideline that I often followed.

More about this below

Now I've already mentioned earlier I really think it is important to find a sample you'd like to work with 1st. This way you'll always have an idea of where you want the track to go. Once you've done this you're ready to start building the beat.

I'll always follow the steps below to help me buidling up my beat.

Step One: Producing the beat with drums.

Your drum groove needs to be at least four to eight measures in length. You can get pick these sounds up from studio sample cds and are real easy to come across.

Step Two: Adding the Bass Line.

A bass line is a crucial part of any hip hop beat.

The bass part should remain both captivating and constant. Just as it is with the drum groove, the bass line should comprise of a pre-recorded loop - or, you could just create a new bass line by utilizing MIDI. A lot of sample CDs are out there if you don't feel prepared to create your own bass line from scratch.

Step Three: Adding Orchestration.

Orchestration is a word that applies to the various musical components which uphold the drums and bass. Orchestration can range from being guitar chords, to brief violin stabs, or even funky horn hits. Be sure to utilize metrical or musical pieces that are memorable and mix well with your beat.

Step Four: Adding Samples.

Other than orchestration, many hip hop beats comprise of at least some sampling factors. Sampling includes utilizing a segment of a pre-existing recording, then incorporating it into a fresh, new beat. This is where we'd use the sample we'd chosen 1st but we'd really play around with it and see how it sounds with different beats around it.

Step Five: Adding the Effects.

The effects will be the final part of creating your hip-hop beat. Mixing in delay, compression or reverb could completely alter the feel to your beat and provide it with a special personality. The effects you can pick from are virtually endless. Just be innovative with your work and try out new things until you find a sound that is special and exceptional. That is all. If you use all of these elements in your music, you will have your very own hip hop beat!

Hey, I really hope you are enjoying the tips. I really enjoy making hip hop beats and have tried many different ways. I have found something that really works well for me and I think you should check it out. See what you think.

Click Here to Hear Some Samples

I'll follow these steps below to get my Hip Hop Track off the ground ->

1. It does not matter what order or elements you use to assemble a track, but building up with a kick drum, claps, hats, and snares will make for a great 8 bar pattern.

2. After you have established the beat add the bass line. You will need a bass line with some girth. Search through different bass lines and try to find the one that best fits your song.

Trying many different grooves and feels will help you establish the beat for the rest of your track. Many professionals refer to finding the right bass as a "lock". This lock is when you find a line that is so good it can drive the whole song. There are many different tricks you can use to establish this.

4. Adding a support orchestration is your next step. This is a comparison for your entire ensemble.

5. The next step is copying the 8 bar groove and transform it into a 16 bar pattern with a good bassline and everything else. Dropping out some of the orchestrated elements might be a good idea for the first 8 bars so you can establish a different sound in the second 8.

6. In order to develop a chorus, copy your first drum pattern to the third 8 bars. Maybe even mix up to drum patterns. Fix the bass to fit the next several bars. Try to change different elements, such as the snare and claps, but keep the kick to keep the beat. The next step is to add the orchestration to establish a full chorus.


Arranging the Beat

The arrangement is a little different because it is fitting together the previously constructed elements of the song. The HH beat is all the same. You will most likely want to go all the way with you song, but a simple 4 bar drum pattern can be repeated as necessary.

A full beat will be arranged into a good form, 4 bars of intro and 4 bars of fade to end it. Now all you need is to do a little mixing and adding a vocal track to make it a full production. I find Sonic Producer reslly works for me.

Official Sonic Producer Website

Once you've got all that down you can move on ->

1. You will need to start with a 16 bar verse and transition into an 8 bar chorus.

2. Select these 24 bars and copy them to the next 24 bars. Now you have an arrangement of Verse/Chorus/Verse/Chorus.

3. Now you can continue this pattern or start to develop a new beat or break for the next 8 or 16 bars. A break is actually another chorus that you add to your beat.

Just like previous bars, you should keep your kick line, but try to change everything else; try a bunch of different elements, maybe remove a line and give way for some vocals.

4. After your first break it is a good idea to go into a new verse or add a third chorus until you decide to fade out. You will always know which way to go with your songs.

5. Start to add an introduction. You can pick from three types, 2, 4, or 8 bars. Some introductions can be a drum flam or even 4 to 8 bars of acapella, there are a plethora of options for you to choose. It should feed off of your chorus and verses, along with all of your breaks. I always like picking the best part of my song and trying to rearrange it to create a great introduction to my songs. This introduction will have to keep the listener interested and entertained.

6. Finish the structure of the beat. Listen to your beat a few times and try to correct out of place elements. It may still sound crude, but it will be easily refined. Adding fills to your drum parts and just doing some processing to make the beat sound more fluid will really help the piece.

7. Once you finish mixing you beat add the vocal tracks. Tweaking the arrangement is nothing out of the ordinary to fit your vocals. Shortening or extending a bar or two is nothing to worry about. You still have your whole song structured so changing parts is no problem.

8. The vocalist will most likely work with the beat, and now the arrangement is done. Now it is time to edit and process your song, this is where you take a look at your track piece by piece and making sure it flows correctly and how you want it to.

You can do almost anything you want when arranging hip hop, but do not go overboard. Shrinking certain parts down to 2 or 4 beats is fine, but the main vocal parts should stay at 8 to 16 bars, if you shrink these you might lose the listener.


Changing up the first verse to be different from the second is also a good trick. 8 bars of verse is a great way to move your song while 16 bars might lose a first time listener or someone who hasn't decided to keep listening yet.

If you start to get bored by your own song then you will definitely want to make some changes.

Just like every other style of music, a transition from verse to chorus needs some sort of fill or drum part to keep the listener involved, even during downtime.

It's a common misconception that if you want to make new and exciting hip hop beats at home, you have to buy an expensive audio workstation first. While these expensive software packages do give you the ability to create such beats, there are other ways to create beats without breaking the bank.

When I started out, I didn't think I'd be able to afford anything like that, and I thought I'd have to take out a loan. However, I was wrong.

All you need is high quality production ability and an intuitive interface to get your beats out quickly. I now use a online tool called Sonic Producer.

To use your keyboard and drum pads effectively, you will need to select the sounds you want and use the sequencer to create a pattern from the sounds you want.

What if you have a great keyboard pattern, but you want it to change pitch during the beat? You will need an interface that allows you to simply click and drag the note you want from your pattern to the sequencer.

Another essential feature would be the ability to simply press "record" and create a beat on the fly with your mouse.

How Easy it is to use the sequencer

Sequencer Features. The sequencer is the most important part of the beat making software. It should be divided into beats, four per measure, which is the most common time signature for most hip hop beats. It should be easy to find the proper sound or sample and use it on the sequencer. It should also have a maximum size of 16, enough to hold that many sounds and samples. That should be enough for the most complex beats.

The Interface

The most important parts of the interface should include:

A Mixer: You can use the mixer to change volume levels and assign sounds and samples to the sequencer, with sixteen tracks for all your sounds.

A Keyboard and/or drum pads: As above, these tools can be used to create simple beats by hand or even use them to plan out your beats before you pattern them.

A Toolbar: This tool is essential for saving, loading, and recording your beats. It should come with other sound functions, such as play, stop and rewind, along with an area where you can alter the tempo.

Included Samples: Some programs come with hundreds of loops and samples, and if you are lucky enough to receive some of those, you already have plenty to start with. Many of those included samples are of very high quality.

In Conclusion:

I found a program called Sonic Producer, and it was a great way to get started with creating hip hop beats. It offers a lot from the get go. You will be impressed, like I was, with the excellent and professional beats you will be making with this simple program.

To hear some of the beats created with Sonic Producer nad to sample the Best Hip Hop Beat Software you really need to listen to the samples below ->

Click Here to Listen for Yourself